Question 1

True or false: Shostakovich wrote a symphony based on the 'Lord of the Rings' novels.

Accepted Answer

False. He never wrote any Tolkien-inspired music. This rumor stems from a misattributed, lost orchestral work from the 1970s.

Question 2

True or false: Shostakovich's 'Waltz No. 2' was originally written for a Russian circus act.

Accepted Answer

True. It was composed for the 1955 film 'The First Echelon', not a circus, but later became iconic in films like 'Eyes Wide Shut'.

Question 3

True or false: Shostakovich's 7th Symphony was premiered in Leningrad while the city was under Nazi siege.

Accepted Answer

False. It was premiered in Kuybyshev (Samara) in March 1942; the Leningrad premiere came later that August under siege conditions.

Question 4

True or false: Shostakovich's 5th Symphony was subtitled 'A Soviet Artist's Reply to Just Criticism'.

Accepted Answer

True. After his opera 'Lady Macbeth' was condemned, he rehabilitated himself with this symphony, which carries that official subtitle.

Question 5

True or false: Shostakovich was a close friend and collaborator of the composer Igor Stravinsky.

Accepted Answer

False. They met only a few times and had a cool, competitive relationship; Stravinsky dismissed Shostakovich's music as provincial.

Question 6

True or false: Shostakovich once worked as a football referee for Soviet league matches.

Accepted Answer

True. He was a passionate football fan and actually officiated a few games, though his refereeing was reportedly terrible.

Question 7

True or false: Shostakovich signed a letter praising Stalin's purges to protect his family.

Accepted Answer

True. He was forced to sign denunciations under threat of arrest, a common survival tactic for artists under Stalin.

Question 8

True or false: Shostakovich's music was banned entirely in the Soviet Union after World War II.

Accepted Answer

False. He was denounced in the 1948 Zhdanov Decree, but many works were still performed; total ban is a myth.

Dmitri Shostakovich Trivia Questions